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Sarah sighed. “I was about to do that when you walked up. Is it terrible of me to hope it doesn’t work? Then we can send this one back and get a replacement which will hopefully be easier to use.”
“There’s not a terrible bone in your body, Ms. Sarah,” Gennessey returned.
“You’re too good to me, Gennessey.”
Sarah reached to push down the power switch. The copier’s gears whirled, and the indicator lights flickered before the machine went dead. Waiting several seconds, Sarah then switched the copier on and waited for it to come back to life. Once it did, its nasty warning beep sounded again, and the monitor lit up with an error message. Gennessey spent the next several minutes helping the receptionist troubleshoot the problem to no avail.
“Looks like you’re getting your wish.” Gennessey stepped back from the machine, ready to admit defeat.
“Looks that way,” Sarah agreed. “I’ll give the company a call and have them send someone out to replace this.” The receptionist glared at the machine only a second before her busy mind moved on. She clapped her hands gently together before turning wide eyes to Gennessey. “Oh, I almost forgot. I have something for you.”
Gennessey stepped to the side so Sarah could move back to her desk, where she retrieved an envelope from a spot next to her phone. She presented it to Gennessey as if it was a door prize she won.
“This was in today’s mail. I would have brought it to you, but I noticed you were on the phone.” Her hand waved over to her phone, which had the employees’ names assigned to specific extensions that would light up when the lines were busy. “I thought I’d copy some receipts until you finished your call, and then I got distracted by this damn machine.”
Accepting the envelope, Gennessey noted the distinct texture of fine linen paper. Checking out the back of the envelope, she stared at her name and the company’s address written in elaborate calligraphy. There wasn’t a return address. Because of its size and light weight, it obviously held an invitation of some kind. She had a guess as to where the mail came from, but she hoped she was wrong.
“Thanks, Ms. Sarah. Let me know if you want to take me up on my offer to shoot the machine.”
Gennessey retraced her steps back to her office, the sound of Sarah’s melodic laughter following behind her. She closed the door and settled back onto her leather desk chair. She placed the envelope on top of her desk and just stared at it. As long as she didn’t open it, she could ignore its contents and pretend she’d never received it. Denial wasn’t her typical response to a problem, but at the moment, it had its appeal.
She finally used her finger to rip open the top of the envelope. She gradually withdrew the invitation. Printed on pristine cream paper, the black lettering curved in a fancy script, surrounded by a border of green ivy and pastel flowers. Two names jumped out at her since the size of the letters was larger than the rest of the print. She studied them before allowing herself to read the announcement.
Together with their families, Cohen Samuel Wilson and Autumn Grace Davis invite you to the celebration of their love.
The announcement went on to list the date and location of the wedding, and Gennessey felt sweat bead on her upper lip. One month from today. In her hometown of Millforth, South Carolina. At her grandparents’ home.
She pulled her cell from her jeans pocket. The contact she needed was at the top of her messages. With one tap of her finger, the keyboard popped on the screen for her to draft a new text.
What happened to the destination wedding?
She wasn’t surprised when instead of a return text, she received a phone call. Her cousin’s name flashed on the screen, but she allowed it to ring twice before she answered.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to tell you.” Cohen’s voice sounded contrite, but she wasn’t about to let him off the hook.
“And you thought receiving a wedding invitation in the mail was the best way to do it?”
“No. Autumn mailed those without telling me first. She still doesn’t know about our aversion to weddings. I was trying to figure out how to prepare her and talk to you, but I’ve been too much of a coward to do either.”
Gennessey rolled her eyes. “You don’t have a cowardly bone in your body. You just knew I couldn’t talk you out of it once I had the invitation in my hand. What happened, Cohen? I thought you and Autumn were on the same page with the whole elopement idea.”
“My mom called your mom, and they called her mom. It took on a life of its own. Once the planning started, Autumn told me she used to dream about her wedding when she was a little girl. She imagined the big poofy dress, the outdoor setting, the huge cake, the personalized vows, the whole nine yards. You should have seen her face when she described it to me. I couldn’t deny her that. I think the only reason she agreed to the destination wedding in the first place was because she knew how much I wanted it.”
“So do both. I’ll come to the destination wedding, and you can have the rest of the family at the traditional one.”
“Hell, no. I love Autumn, but one wedding is enough. Besides, for some reason, she loves our crazy big family. She’s an only child, and it’s been her and her parents her whole life. She thinks all the chaos and lack of boundaries in our family is sweet.”
Gennessey sighed. “I have no doubt the family loves her too, especially now that she’s planning the big wedding production.”
She almost winced at the bitterness dripping from her tone, so she wasn’t surprised when Cohen called her out.
“Autumn isn’t the bad guy. You love her too. Remember? You said she was just the type of woman I needed in my life. Can you really be mad at her for wanting something you don’t?”
Gennessey sighed. “No, I’m not mad at her. I’m happy for both of you. I just don’t know if I can be around our entire family. Not after last time.”
“I know I’m asking a lot, but I can’t do this without you. It’s been hard enough since Autumn and I have been together, but now that we’re planning a wedding, the family is driving me crazy. They’re planting ideas of a house with a picket fence, two kids, and a career in the family business. You know it’s not what I want.”
“Neither of us ever fit the mold the family had for us,” she mused. “But what about Autumn? You didn’t think she wanted the big wedding, but that’s exactly what you’re having. Are you sure she doesn’t want the picture-perfect family and home with a husband who works the proverbial nine-to-five job?”
